Ocello carefully set me on the ground, letting go only after I had a steady footing. The door to the Chief's hut swung open and out pranced a woman taller than me with…cat ears? Wait, I thought women couldn't shapeshift in this world. What was going on? As she turned, her tail fell off.
My jaw dropped as a thought occurred to me. Could she be wearing cat ears? As I looked closer, I saw a band holding her hair down with stitching at the base of the cat ears. The only reason I could see it was because she had bowed to me in greeting.
"Welcome to the Village of Bena!" She said in a booming voice. Not that she needed to talk very loudly because it seemed as if the shape of the mountain allowed her voice to carry as if in an amphitheater. I could see several women exit their huts nearby like noisy neighbors along with their husbands and children.
"Chief Inti, I have brought you a woman searching for a place to belong. Her name is Kami." Ocello said before bowing himself. I wasn't sure what the etiquette was in this situation, so I just stood still. I was glad Ocello had said it like that. If he had told her that I was a random person looking for a handout, I might have been a little embarrassed, but that was essentially why I was here. I had my life, but other than that, all I had were the clothes on my back.
I was lucky that going between worlds didn't take my clothes away too cause that would have been a really awkward way to meet Ocello. Chief Inti stood straight and stared at me closely.
"I haven't seen anyone who looks like you before."
"What do you mean?"
"Your clothes! Never seen anyone else in a get up like that. What are those little nubby things there supposed to do. And those shoes are made from something I have never seen before!" I looked down at my grimy attire and then looked out over the crowd of people and there was a stark contrast. But it was a little annoying to have it pointed out. I grinned at her and said something I probably shouldn't have.
"Well, I've never seen a woman with cat ear like that, nor a tail that falls off!" She looked startled for a moment before letting out a rumbling laugh that echoed down the mountain.
"You know, you are the first person to say anything about my ears! It's been at least a year of moons. I wear these because my men like it." Tossing her salt and pepper hair back, she glanced behind her where I saw three older gentlemen wearing tunics and beaded necklaces. She winked at then and blew them a kiss. "They say it looks cute." Those same gentlemen blushed and looked away as if they were still not used to their wife's behavior. I giggled at the group as the Chief looked back at me.
"Why don't you come in and we can discuss our next steps." The Chief clapped and her husbands raced back inside. "Don't worry, I already had water on to boil. We saw and heard you coming up the mountain ages ago."
"Ocello already introduced me, but I wanted to tell you myself. I am Kami. Thank you for inviting me in your home."
"Don't think anything of it! It is standard for visitors to stop at my hut, but especially ones that are having a hard time. Ocello wouldn't have brought you otherwise." The Chief winked back at Ocello and took me by the shoulders leading me into her home. Ocello followed close behind. Before I stepped through, I could swear I caught a glimpse of a man with spiky black hair glaring at me. I noticed because everyone else seemed to just look curious. But I would have to figure out that one later because a waft of intense floral fragrances overwhelmed my senses.
On all sides of the hut, flowers were hung to dry upside down and strung from the ceilings. Large vats of liquid stood over to one side of the room with various pottery and herbs in various stages of preparation. In the center of the room was a large stone fire pit. Being the chief's hut probably explained why it was so large and why there were so many places to sit.
Curved benches surrounded the pit with pathways to the fire. I think you would be able to fit at least fifty people there. The living area was sectioned off and there was a set of stairs to a loft in the back of the home. The furthermost wall seemed to be the rock of mountain. Caves had been hollowed out and doors erected to close them off.
Every so often there were stones set into niches that glowed bright enough to act like lamps in the darker places. Above was a hole in the center of the roof where the smoke from the fire pit would need to escape with an intricate set of rope and twine that looked like it closed off the opening, likely for times where rain would leak in.
Chief Inti led me to a table were I could see a pot of liquid with leaves floating in it. It looked like an herbal tea. She gestured to a bench and poured me a cup as her husbands brought out some cut fruit and water to wash with.
Ocello reached for the two clothes and handed me one. He dipped it in the bowl of water held by the shortest of the Chief's husbands and wiped at the sweat and grime from out journey. I mimicked his actions. The cool water was incredibly refreshing. Once we were cleaned up, a glass of the drink was handed to us.
"This is a drink that a lot of our pregnant women swear by. It is delicious and refreshing even in this heat." I cautiously sniffed at the drink, and the smell of mint filled my senses. I smiled and sipped at the tea. They had left the sugar out which is how I preferred my tea. Even though it wasn't iced, the cool water felt incredibly refreshing.
"This very refreshing! I used to drink something like it when I had morning sickness. It helped to settle my stomach."
"We have honey if you like it sweeter."
"No, this is my favorite way to drink it." I bent over and snagged a few slices of fruit and the juice was heavenly after the stress of climbing the mountain. Sure, Ocello was the one who actually climbed it but hanging onto him was exhausting.
"I'm glad you are enjoying it. Now, I'll as a few questions so that we can place you appropriately. I see you already have a husband." She gestured to the tattoo on my arm. "Do you know where he is?"
"I've never met him!" I kind of enjoyed the confused look on her face, but honestly, without revealing how I got here, how was I supposed to clarify this. "I woke up here with this tattoo on my arm. I don't remember anything of my life here before Ocello found me."
"That is unusual."
"I remember I was somewhere else before here. I had a husband there, but he was a horrible person." I could feel my throat tighten and tears threatened to spill over. I set the cup on the table so I wouldn't spill it. "He could not have children, but he was able to get me pregnant with another man's baby. The father is the man who's tattoo is on my arm."
"I see. It takes powerful magic to make that happen. I'm sorry you had to go through that." She stood and walked over and hugged me. I didn't want to break down again, but the warmth of her body reassuring mine felt motherly and for a moment I basked in it. After a while she pulled back and sat next to me.
"We have several open huts that my husbands can take you to tour. If we have room, we take in anyone. If we don't, we just build more."
"Thank you! Ocello told me that my husband was here, too. I don't want to force him into anything he doesn't want, though."
"Worry not. We shall start with the introduction after you get settled in. Typically, husbands move in with their wife. It's easier that way. We'll give you two a little while to get to know each other before making a decision." I nodded at her. With that, she looked over at Ocello.
"It seems you also have another man hanging on to you. Have you two talked about becoming partners yet?" I sputtered in surprise and Inti laughed. "Don't be shy, I can see you two get along well."
"Mother..." My eyes shot to his and as I looked closer, I began to see some similarities between the man who had been taking care of me and the woman he called Chief.